Yahoo Finance Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Sales Up Y/Y
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation PPC reported impressive first-quarter 2024 results, wherein the top and bottom lines increased year over year. The company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
PPC has been witnessing growth across all regions. Its portfolio diversification strategies, operational excellence, branded offerings, efficient management of inventory and key customer partnerships have been driving growth.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation Quote
Q1 in Detail
PPC reported adjusted earnings of 77 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. The company posted adjusted earnings of 8 cents in the year-ago period. On a GAAP basis, earnings came in at 73 cents, up from 2 cents recorded in the year-ago period.
The producer, marketer and distributor of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products generated net sales of $4,361.9 million, which increased 4.7% year over year. Net sales rose across all regions.
Net sales in the U.S. operations were $2,579.3 million, up from $2,432.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Strengthening partnerships with key customers in Case Ready and Small Bird segments, along with improving operational excellence in Big Bird have been driving factors.
Mexico operations generated net sales of $1,267.9 million in the reported quarter, up from $1,239.3 million in the prior-year quarter. This improved result was driven by balanced supply and demand fundamentals in commodity markets. Also, strengthening relationships with key customers and expansion of diversified product offering helped to increase sales.
Net sales from Europe operations rose to $519.7 million from $493.8 million in the prior-year quarter. The company’s Europe businesses gained from diversification through brands, optimization of manufacturing and support activities, and additional distribution with key customers.
PPC’s cost of sales declined to $3,978 million from $3,992.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Gross profit jumped to $383.9 million from $173 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $371.9 million increased significantly from $151.9 million reported in the year-earlier period. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.5% expanded 4.9 points from 3.6% a year ago.
Other Financial Details
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $870.8 million, long-term debt (less current maturities) of $3,342.7 million and total shareholders’ equity of $3,494.4 million. The company provided $271 million in cash from operating activities for the qaurter ended Mar 31, 2024.
Shares of Pilgrim's Pride have risen 31.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 15.6% growth.
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Other Key Picks
Here, we have highlighted three other top-ranked stocks, namely Colgate-Palmolive CL, Vital Farms Inc. VITL and Utz Brands Inc. UTZ.
Colgate-Palmolive, which manufactures and sells consumer products, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. CL delivered an average earnings surprise of 4.4% in the trailing four quarters. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Colgate-Palmolive’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings suggests growth of 4.1% and nearly 13%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.
Vital Farms, which offers a range of produced pasture-raised foods, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. VITL has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 155.4%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vital Farms’ current financial-year sales and earnings suggests growth of 17.4% and nearly 43.8%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.
Utz Brands manufactures a diverse portfolio of salty snacks and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. UTZ has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 2.6%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Utz Brands’ current financial-year earnings implies growth of 18.2% from the year-ago reported numbers.
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Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vital Farms, Inc. (VITL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
